Howard 288 Sport Deck Build

[AZRiverRunner]

Getting close...should be done in time to take it out a few times for the best boating time of the year.

What are you doing for a trailer?

Thanks!
The trailer will be family standard, Extreme Engineering, metallic silver, with full LED upgrade.

 

[spectra3279]

Define boating.

 

[River Lynchmob]

Thanks!
The trailer will be family standard, Extreme Engineering, metallic silver, with full LED upgrade.

Similar to the black one under the blue 288 at the boat show last year?

 

[Gelcoater]

Boat is looking wicked.:thumbsup

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Similar to the black one under the blue 288 at the boat show last year?

Uh, no.. haha
Similar to the one in the RDP review of the red/white 288.

 

[River Lynchmob]

Uh, no.. haha
Similar to the one in the RDP review of the red/white 288.

View attachment 515105

Very nice looking!

 

[AZRiverRunner]

[video=youtube_https;__7V0trZVbU]https://youtu.be/__7V0trZVbU[/video]

[video=youtube_https;EBoEozwkIi0]https://youtu.be/EBoEozwkIi0[/VIDEO]

 

[Dirtbag]

[video=youtube_https;__7V0trZVbU]https://youtu.be/__7V0trZVbU[/video]

[video=youtube_https;EBoEozwkIi0]https://youtu.be/EBoEozwkIi0[/VIDEO]

awesome......

what guages did u put next to the VesselView?

 

[BUSTI]

Badass! Congrats.

 

[Devious_Chris]

Love that sound!

 

[lavish62]

Absolutely beautiful build, congrats!!! And done in 4.5 months, excited to see it out on the water.

 

[Q4mtxUS]

Absolutely beautiful build, congrats!!! And done in 4.5 months, excited to see it out on the water.

Haw....I see whatcha did there...

 

[AZRiverRunner]

awesome......

what guages did u put next to the VesselView?

The large diameter gauges are:
GPS Speedo + Livorsi Vantage View Tach- (Smartcraft compatible) That will show most engine info on the LCD screen of the tach. All the smaller gauges are controlled by the Vantage View Tach, and you can program the alarm thresholds for each gauge from the tach. I did that with Bill at Howard yesterday, when the alarm point is hit, the red LED on the gauge that monitors that parameter lights up, along with a message on the Vantage View that there's an alarm.

Smaller gauges, all tied into the Livorsi Vantage View Tach are:
-Water Temp
-Water Pressure
-Oil Pressure
-Trim
-Fuel Tank 1
-Fuel Tank 2

Garmin 741xs connected to the Mercury Gateway and to a transom mounted transducer for depth and lake temperature. The Garmin can show engine/fuel info, graphic gauges, or chart plotter functions.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

[video=youtube_https;__7V0trZVbU]https://youtu.be/__7V0trZVbU[/video]

[video=youtube_https;EBoEozwkIi0]https://youtu.be/EBoEozwkIi0[/VIDEO]

HELL YA!!

Bill was telling me about some of the new trick stuff he is doing with wiring. Definitely taking it to another level.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

So stoked how she's turning out!

 

[River Lynchmob]

When do you take delivery?

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Probably in about a week. Gel coat touch up is about all that is remaining to be done.

 

[Dirtbag]

such a beauty....cant wait to see it out there!

 

[relaxalot]

Such a nice rig! Howard builds the best deck boat! You will love it!

 

[AZRiverRunner]

She's done! I'm so happy how it turned out and excited to get on the water. Trailer is due to arrive tomorrow, then shipping to Arizona on Thursday.

 

[Devious_Chris]

Seeing your boat today I was amazed at how beautiful this build is!!! I look forward to boating with you next year.

Thanks for the help with my build and sharing your thoughts and ideas. Gene and Mike are knocking it out of the park on these boats!!

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Seeing your boat today I was amazed at how beautiful this build is!!! I look forward to boating with you next year.

Thanks for the help with my build and sharing your thoughts and ideas. Gene and Mike are knocking it out of the park on these boats!!

Thank you ... and your welcome Chris! Gene, Mike, and Bill turn out a fine product. It's really a piece of art.

Now that mine's done, I get to watch yours evolve. You're getting to the exciting part, mine should ship today, making room for yours to move into the color sand/buffing phase. I don't know if the blue/white 288's owner is on this forum, but looked like they already started rigging it.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Thank you Scott E for sending me this picture! I hadn't seen the bimini on the boat.

 

[BUSTI]

I don't see it being possible to build a nicer boat than this. Lines are great, gel scheme is awesome and the interior looks to be very functional.

 

[Devious_Chris]

Thank you Scott E for sending me this picture! I hadn't seen the bimini on the boat.
View attachment 517798

I like the BLACK Bimini, I also went with Black...... looks low profile[emoji41]

 

[Devious_Chris]

Thank you ... and your welcome Chris! Gene, Mike, and Bill turn out a fine product. It's really a piece of art.

Now that mine's done, I get to watch yours evolve. You're getting to the exciting part, mine should ship today, making room for yours to move into the color sand/buffing phase. I don't know if the blue/white 288's owner is on this forum, but looked like they already started rigging it.

Awe man they are shipping a day early on yours, that's awesome!!! Yes I agree that the Howard's are a piece of art, these boats are built with incredible attention to detail.

After they finish the engine compartment in my boat it will move into color sanding and buffing. That is when this build will come alive....

 

[WildWilly]

I'm jealous of both you guys. My end goal is to build one of these, not quite there convincing the wife yet to jump to this much $$...since as she puts it "unless you want to live in it"....but I feel we are close lol

 

[River Lynchmob]

Thank you Scott E for sending me this picture! I hadn't seen the bimini on the boat.
View attachment 517798

Your boat turned out far better than I could have imagined from your rendering. You have to be over the moon.

Do you have pics of the blue and white one?

Hopefully I will build one of these next year. Each new one that is built just raises the bar to a new level!

 

[Devious_Chris]

Your boat turned out far better than I could have imagined from your rendering. You have to be over the moon.

Do you have pics of the blue and white one?

Hopefully I will build one of these next year. Each new one that is built just raises the bar to a new level!

I have some pics of the blue/white boat but I'm not sure if the owner would be okay posting them....... Maybe Scott knows???

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Your boat turned out far better than I could have imagined from your rendering. You have to be over the moon.

Do you have pics of the blue and white one?

Hopefully I will build one of these next year. Each new one that is built just raises the bar to a new level!

Thank you! We couldn't be happier about how it turned out. I'm really excited to see it on the water and in the sunlight. When the did the engine startup, I got a glimpse of how great the silver and charcoal metallic looks in the sun, and how the near yellow/orange to tangerine fade pops. Mike Willen was really happy how it turned out too, he's the man! Once we decided on the graphic design, that Mike drew up, my wife and I started throwing colors at Mike. He'd send us a computer rendering and I'd ask his advice. One day I saw a custom truck online, that had the exact color fade we were looking for. I sent it to Mike and here it is!

 

[NicPaus]

Waiting patiently to see a full side picture.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

I have some pics of the blue/white boat but I'm not sure if the owner would be okay posting them....... Maybe Scott knows???

I don't know who owns the blue and white 288 behind me in sequence. I believe it was a design that Gene and Mike wanted to build for stock, to sell after it was complete. I believe it sold before Mike was done taping the mold..haha.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Waiting patiently to see a full side picture.

Haha! Me too! There's always been boats or molds on both sides. I promise to post some when she arrives in AZ tomorrow or Friday.

Gene just sent me a picture on the trailer, ready to be picked up for delivery. I'll post as soon as i download it.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Ready to roll!

 

[Devious_Chris]

Ready to roll!
View attachment 517929

I may have to bring the family out Sunday just to see this thing in the water!

 

[Dirtbag]

congrats. What a beautiful boat. Cant wait to see a pic of it floating

 

[River Lynchmob]

Have you taken delivery of it yet? Need to see a full side view of it and see it in the sunlight!

 

[Scott E]

Left the shop about an hour ago for delivery. Should be on Havasu this weekend.

 

[Dirtbag]

orange trailer might have looked bad ass with this boat

Still sexy as hell. Grats on a bitchin ride

 

[River Lynchmob]

Thing looks amazing in the sunlight! Cant wait to hear how she is on the water and see those pics!

 

[HB2LHC]

:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[goldy]

I don't know who owns the blue and white 288 behind me in sequence. I believe it was a design that Gene and Mike wanted to build for stock, to sell after it was complete. I believe it sold before Mike was done taping the mold..haha.

The blue and white one is my brother in laws. Should take delivery before thanksgiving.

 

[Devious_Chris]

The blue and white one is my brother in laws. Should take delivery before thanksgiving.

Would he mind if pictures were shared on RDP?

 

[goldy]

Would he mind if pictures were shared on RDP?

Not at all.

 

[Devious_Chris]

Your boat turned out far better than I could have imagined from your rendering. You have to be over the moon.

Do you have pics of the blue and white one?

Hopefully I will build one of these next year. Each new one that is built just raises the bar to a new level!

 

[River Lynchmob]

View attachment 518130 View attachment 518131 View attachment 518132

Ridiculous!

 

[Dirtbag]

this is the year of the blue and grey boat builds haha. Freakin love it

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Yes, at the Sandbar today 10 of the 13 boats we could see were blue.

 

[AZRiverRunner]

Our first day on the water! Went down to the Sandbar and then up north of Needles. It was a perfect day. The boat ran perfect, my family and I are very happy, the boat turned out better than we imagined.


These underwater lights are amazing!

 

[Runs2rch]

So nice!!!

What are your impressions on the 565 so far?